Understanding Verbals

A verbal is a verb that is being

used as another part of speech
rather than a verb.
There are three types of Verbals
• Participles
• Gerunds
• Infinitives
Examples
– The frightened cat scratched my eye.
– Running seems tiresome at first.
– Sometimes I like to swing and sometimes I like
to slide at the park.
 Verbals

• A verbal is a verb that is being used as

another part of speech rather than a verb.
Participle

• Examples
Gerund

– The frightened cat scratched my eye.

– Running seems tiresome at first.
– Sometimes I like to swing and sometimes I like
to slide at the park.
Infinitive
 Participles

• A participle is a verbal that

acts as an adjective.
– The crying woman left the
movie theater.
– The frustrated child ran away
from home.
 Participles

• A participle is a form of a verb that

acts as an adjective.
– The crying woman left the movie theater.
– The frustrated child ran away from
home.
Past or Present Participles

• Participles ending in an “ing” are

Present Participles
• Participles ending in an “ed” are Past
Participles
Identify the Participles in the
following sentences
• Sometimes my gurgling stomach
keeps me from concentrating
• While sleeping with the TV on, the
tormented child dreamt of monsters.
• Screaming adults tend to be very
impatient.
 Gerunds

• A gerund is a verbal that acts as a

noun.
-Running is great exercise
-Most people enjoy eating.
 Gerunds

• A gerund is a verbal that acts as a

noun. (always end in “ing”)
-Running is great exercise
-Most people enjoy eating.
Identify the Gerunds in the
following sentences

• Talking is a disruptive activity.

• My son loves playing with his toy
dinosaur.
• The doctor gave studying all of his
attention.
 Infinitives
• An infinitive is a Verbal that appears
with the word “to” and acts as a
noun, adjective, or adverb
– 2 types of infinitives
• Present infinitive (only “to” + verb)
• Perfect infinitive (“to have” or “to have
been” + past tense version of the verb)
 Infinitive examples
• Present
– I like to debate.
– To play with matches is wrong.
• Perfect
– I would have liked to read the paper.
– To have been mentioned would have
been enough.
Identify the verbals in the following
sentences and identify them as a
participle, a gerund or an infinitive.
• Meditating on positive ideas brings
great physical health.
• The explorer struggled to find the
remote colony.
• The heated pool is great for sore
muscles